Raymond Chia's musical journey began in 1985 in Muar, Johor at the age of 15, playing keyboards for the local church.

By the age of 19 he already performed at local pubs and clubs in Klang valley with the "Rain Rhythm" band.

In 1993, Rain Rhythm changed their name to the Southern Reign, and began garnering fans of country and western music all over the Klang Valley.

Southern Reign's repertoire also included rock and roll, retro, classic rock and memorable songs from the 60s and 70s.

Besides being a vocalist and keyboardist, Raymond also arranged vocal harmony and songs for the band. He also plays various other instruments including the fiddle, blues harp and the rhythm guitar.

During his years with the Southern Reign band, Raymond performed at the Country and Western Fair at the Ferringhi Beach Hotel, Penang that is held every July. He also appeared and performed with Southern Reign on television in 1995 for the Christmas Musical Special on RTM2.

In 2002, Raymond left Southern Reign band to pursue a solo career and sometimes as a duo with with Sherman Tan and, occasionally, with Gerard Singh. His ability to sing and perform different kinds of music - pop, classic rock, country, oldies, retro and jazz - has made him a much sought after musician for private functions and corporate events.

One of the major highlights of his music career is when he won the 2nd runner up for the Group Category at Carlsberg's CenterStage Competition (formerly known as Carlsberg's Top of the Pubs Competition) with Sherman Tan in 2003.

He has also performed vocal sessions for Gerard Singh's debut album, Slice of the Pie, which was nominated for two awards in the A.I.M. awards (Anugerah Industri Muzik) in 2005.

From mid-2003 onwards, he has continued working as a soloist in the pub circuits in the Klang Valley and performed with other musicians at weddings, clubs and private and corporate events.

His list of corporate clients he has played for is nothing short of impressive and includes Shell, Fuji Xerox, ICI Paints, Toyota, BMW, Canon, Pfizer, Jotun Paints, Epson, Mild Seven, Digi, Standard Chartered, Malaysian Tatler, Mayflower, Superbrand Awards, the MANZA ball, and The Sunway Group.

Some of the outlets he has performed includes Crossroads at Concorde Hotel KL, Merchant Pub at Armada Hotel, The Pub at Shangri-la Hotel KL, Federal Hotel KL, Holiday Villa Subang, Holiday Villa Langkawi, Uncle Chilli's at PJ Hilton, Hard Rock Café, Bernard's Pub, Ronnie Q Pub, 1957 Bistro, Talking Heads, Waikiki Bar, Backyard Pub, The Reef, Titus Blues Bar, Yacht Club Port Dickson, Decanter Pub, Bulldog Pub, Bisik restaurant, Slippery Senorita, Country Barn, Salsa Pub, Online Pub, Fandango, The Place, Gloria Jeans and The National Press Club.

Raymond Chia plays a regular solo gig on Mondays and with Retro Edge on Fridays at Backyard. Performances start at 9pm.

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